Capes are well known in the art for protecting a wearer from soiling or staining clothes during hair dressing. Chemicals from styling, bleaching, coloring, shampooing and waxing hair may splash or drip and stain clothes. Such prior art capes also prevent soiling from hair dropping during hair cutting and styling.
Prior art disclosures include U.S. Pat. No. 3,639,915 to Hrubecky disclosing and claiming a disposable garment and method of making same. Customers wear the garment in a personal care salon or barbershop. The '915 patent discloses treating the garment with chemicals to resist bacterial and fungus growth.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,629 to Chrisman et al. discloses a disposable bib for protecting the wearer. The bib is folded in the '629 patent to fit snugly around the wearer's neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,777 to Fowler discloses and claims an article of clothing worn by the user while receiving treatment for protecting the wearer. The '777 patent discloses a two piece cover wherein a towel is removably attached to the wearer and a cover piece similarly removably attached is released to remain in the sink or basin after shampooing or the like.
The prior art does not protect both the wearer and the surrounding facilities from waste water and chemicals used during the personal grooming procedures. The chemical waste is rinsed into an adjacent sink, tub or other drain to be flushed into the waste water system. Biological waste such as hair clippings are flushed or fall to the floor for later cleanup. The prior art does not incorporate an integral utility cover to protect the porcelain, metal or painted finish of the drainage device. The chemicals may cause staining, corrosion or other surface damaging reactions with the sink or tub.
In addition, the particulate waist from the personal care procedure is allowed to drop to the floor or onto the adjacent utilities. This necessitates a clean up operation after each customer is finished. The clean up includes sweeping, vacuuming or mopping the floor and wiping down the surfaces of adjacent utilities and equipment to remove hair pieces and other particulate waste.